cosmo brown

anyone who knows us – knows how much we all love animals (ok so jake only “likes” animals).  each of our pets has a unique personality and we have many funny stories about each of them.  cosmo however takes the cake.  he is an enigma.  according to most articles – he should be dead.  before we knew it was a “no no” – we used to throw him onions from the cutting board and have fed him numerous grapes.  i mean they’re healthy right?  cosmo is a pug, but i think he has more pig than dog in him.  he goes through the trashcans and eats banana peels, coffee grinds, plastic bags, dryer sheets, kleenex – basically anything else that will fit in his mouth.  he doesn’t chew – he inhales.  he’s sucked down entire bags of chocolate and bottles of beer.  he’s wandered out of our house on numerous occasions and has waddled into any of our neighbors open doors looking for food (luckily he’s friendly). we try taking him for walks to help work off some of the fat from his numerous expeditions in the trash can and neighborhood adventures – as soon as we hit the street – he runs straight for any cigarette butt that he can find and sucks it up….even walks are unhealthy for cosmo!  yet despite all of this…he is still alive.

there is only one time that the end has come close…..we had just moved back to california from maryland and were spending some time with my parents.  i was petting cosmo when i felt something on his neck.  i looked closely and saw something that resembled a june bug.  YUK – I HATE JUNE BUGS….but it turned out to be something even worse…..a TICK!!  so i had never seen a tick before, let alone one that was attached to MY dog!  luckily my dad knew just what to do……he first tried putting rubbing alcohol on the tick – trying to get it to release cosmo’s neck.  over and over again he tried – no luck.  then he tried burnt out matches…..can you see where this is going?   after several attempts still nothing….but then my dad didn’t quite blow out the match and POOF cosmo was on FIRE!  my poor fat pug sitting there completely unaware that his back was literally on fire.  thankfully the fire only had a chance to burn off the alcohol and didn’t hurt cosmo.  

so my friends, this is why cosmo is an enigma – he eats chocolate, grapes, onions and everything else that should kill him and yet he continues on!

happy halloween

i can’t believe that october is over!  we never even made it to the pumpkin patch this year :(  - i guess it’s a sign that our kids are getting older and pumpkin patch visits just aren’t a priority anymore.

for halloween we decided to go to our church’s annual carnival.  the kids had a blast!  it was our first time attending and it was wonderful to see how many people from the surrounding neighborhoods came to the event.  everything except food was free of charge – so awesome! 

since our kids are getting a little old for bounce houses and the other games that were at the carnival, mackenzie and her friend volunteered for the evening.  a good portion of the youth group volunteered – such a great experience!

here are a couple of pictures:

mackenzie was one of the 3 amigos and blake was a soccer player from his favorite team - liverpool.

(yes that would be my daughters toe sticking out of her toms – that’s how we roll)

after the carnival, blake decided that his candy bag was not even close to being full enough – so we went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.  all of the kids (mackenzie’s two friends + my kids) wanted to take the dogs with them.  cosmo the pug is a “little” out of shape and would not be able to walk around the entire time –he’s been known to plop down and refuse to walk anymore once he’s decided that he’s met his exercise quota.  mackenzie really wanted him to come along – so she decided to strap a laundry basket to a skateboard and created a “wagon” for cosmo.  it was absolutely ridiculous – but hysterical!  cosmo of course loved it – nothing like laying around in a bunch of blankets being pulled around the neighborhood!  the girls just had to be a careful anytime that cosmo moved – since any weight shift caused the basket to tip!   of course my phone was dead at this point and i didn’t have my camera – so no pictures of cosmo :(

all in all a fun night – but jake and i are absolutely thrilled that it’s over – and the christmas season is in full effect! 

-noelle

p.s. our house is already decorated for christmas!!

luke warm.....but with good intentions

lately i feel like my walk with the lord has been luke warm.   maybe it is partially due to a break in bible study over the summer, or just a busy schedule, but i feel somewhat disconnected.  i have so many good intentions……i’ve bought numerous books, from raising godly children to books on how to study the bible effectively.  three years ago i bought a book on how to encourage your daughter through middle school – i’m on chapter 3 and my daughter is in 8^th grade!  i’ve made schedule after schedule penciling in my quiet time in the morning and when that didn’t work scheduling it for nights after the kids go to bed.  why is this so hard to commit to a time to spend with the lord?  if i made a commitment to meet with one of my friends, i wouldn’t continually cancel.  but when i take the initiative to create the schedule, layout my bible or whatever other book i want to read during my quiet time, set my alarm for early, there’s always something that comes up….i don’t sleep well the night before so i need to sleep in a little to catch up; something comes up with the kids that throws our schedule off; i’m tired after work and just want to relax with jake.  there’s ALWAYS something, and honestly i justify the excuses and say to myself “tomorrow i’ll catch up.  the lord understands that my heart desires to this, he’ll forgive me”.   

the other day i came across one of my many new years resolution lists from a couple of years ago.  so many of the items on my list are still what i need to work on!  it was a bit of a rude awakening that although i get organized and make my lists of goals, i have a difficult time following through.  life is busy.  life flies by.  i can’t believe that my babies are 13 and 11.  you go go go and then before you realize it months have flown by.

i desire to live intentionally.  maybe some of my goals may not be realistic for the season of our lives right now, however i can still live with purpose and follow-through with what the lord lays on my heart. 

on my heart…

spending enjoyable time with my kids away from homework, chores and errands

spending daily quiet time with the lord

getting involved in our community

there are so many more items on my “list”, books that i need to read, studies that i need to go over with my kids, etc….however i think that this list has been my downfall in years past.  i try to take on too much, become overwhelmed and don’t accomplish what i really need to.    i’m going to try to put aside my “type a” personality and am going to let some things on my to do list slide and focus on what’s really important!

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT):
The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my Word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

missing my dad

my dad passed away a little over four years ago.  it’s a strange feeling – some days it seems like he’s been gone far longer, other days the memories of him are so clear that it feels like i was just talking to him yesterday.

i inherited my dad’s singing voice.  unfortunately he didn’t have one – which is what was passed down to me!  when i was little, i remember sitting next to my dad in church and giggling while he loudly sang the worship songs next to me.  he was either singing the completely wrong words, or his tone was far off -  neither of which ever hindered him from singing loudly and tapping his feet to the music.  he would smile down at me when he really messed up a line – but then continued on.  so I guess it’s fitting that my memories of my dad always come rushing to me in church.  listening to my own voice, knowing that i’m not even close to hitting the right notes, instead of being embarrassed it makes me smile and reminds me of my dad.  something which started off so silly, has now become a simple way that i remember him in everyday life.  funny that the things that used to embarrass me about my dad, have now become what i miss most.  from him dancing and whistling around the kitchen in his bathrobe every weekend morning – to him loudly and very enthusiastically greeting my friends whenever they came to our house. 

so many memories of which i am so thankful for!  a good reminder to savor our time with our loved ones – don’t let life’s busyness get in the way :)  

christmas

the browns and christmas……..where do i begin?  the brown family LOVES christmas.  it is by far our favorite time of year.  we get so excited when september rolls around…….not because the kids are in school again, but because we are a few short months away from christmas!!!  i’m one of “those people” who drive their coworkers crazy with christmas music in the beginning of november.  

we have one rule……no christmas music, movies or anything else until november first.  you wouldn’t think that this would be difficult, but there is at least one of us that tries to convince someone else to let the rule slide. 

i came across this picture from last year…..i seriously cannot wait to decorate this year!

so excited to watch this…..

i can’t wait to snuggle with my baby with only the lights from the christmas tree lighting the room while listening to some bing.

i bought this today. 

took a deep inhale (yes i did inhale :) ).

i'm so happy!

christmas is right around the corner!!!

june bloom designs

the first batch of pillows are ready!   more styles are posted on www.junebloomdesigns.com                 

i had so much fun creating these and i still have more fabric to go :) my etsy shop will be up and running soon!

enjoy your weekend! 

blog sugar

wow!  what an event!  i’m new to the blogging world, so i decided to attend blog sugar to get an idea of how to promote my new business june bloom designs.  i knew that there are a lot of “bloggers” out there, however i had never realized how connected and emotionally invested everyone becomes after years of reading each other’s blogs.  i expected to see a lot of individual bloggers, but what i saw instead was a UNIFIED group of women (and man J )!  it was such a wonderful experience to see these women who have been following each other’s blogs for years, finally meet in person!  i helped out during the registration process and was amazed to see how many women traveled from across the country to come to blog sugar!  i even met a few women who came straight from the airport! 

rachel put on a great event – everything ran so smoothly & on time (which with such a large group of women was quite an accomplishment!).  the decorations were lovely & the desserts delicious!

i enjoyed each of my sessions and am definitely motivated to get going with my blog and website.  at the end of the night, what struck me the most is that we all have a voice.  sometimes it feels like our vote, or our opinion doesn’t really matter.  it seems like we are in the minority when it comes to our views or morals.  i’ve been wrong – we do have a voice that can reach across the world.  i truly believe that i have gone through some difficult "seasons" in life, not only to mold me into a better person, but to help someone else that may be going through something similar.  i feel like some of my pain will be wasted if i keep all of my struggles to myself and not share them with anyone.  blogging can give me the opportunity to share my story.  sure there may not be a lot of people reading my blog yet, however if god wants someone to read what i’ve written – HE will bring them to my blog.  i just need to quiet my mind, listen to him, and write what’s on my heart. 

thanks for the motivation ladies and i look forward to seeing you all in 2012 J

santa barbara

jake and i recently had an entire weekend to ourselves!  it had been quite some time since we were “kid free” – so we jumped at the chance to go to santa barbara for the weekend.

we stayed at a great hotel right across from the beach and walking distance from state street. 

the hotel provided bikes for us to use, so we rode around for a few hours exploring the beach as well as the neighborhoods.

one of my favorite parts about vacation is having no time schedule.  we made a point to not look at our phones and avoided checking the time.  so freeing to just randomly walk around, wander around shops, as well as stopping at pubs or restaurants along the way.  no kids – just us.   so nice for a break and a chance to just focus on each other.



yum – homemade potato chips with gorgonzola!



   





such a great time!  we hope to go back again soon :)

adventures in bike riding

so i discovered this morning that in the mere three days that i have been riding the electric bike to work  i have become quite accustomed to it.  this morning started off like any other, i loaded my bag into my basket and took off for work.  i was even a little chilly since i was letting the electric portion do the work – so i stopped to add another layer of clothing.  i hopped back on the bike and twisted the handle to kick in the battery...... nothing happened.   surely i must have just hit the off button, so i tried it again.  still NOTHING. 

have i mentioned that the electric bike is quite a bit heavier than standard bikes?  i usually only pedal roughly 1/3 of the way to work since i figure i’m still getting a great work out with the added weight.  there i sat on my bike - in my big black helmet and double sweatshirts - realizing that i was going to have to PEDAL the ENTIRE way to work.  a little over 4 miles at this point.  ok - so i'm a little dramatic - but it's EARLY in the morning and i didn't want to have to work THAT hard. 

i made it, but have to admit it was TOUGH.  i caught myself continuing to twist the handle, hoping that the battery miraculously charged on the way.  no such luck.  i was a sad sight - walking my bike into my parking lot - since i couldn't bring myself to pedal up one more hill.

i’m tired.

my legs are rubber.

i’m thankful for driveways (any downhill is awesome).

strangely after 5 days of riding to work – i’m still completely out of shape  - what?

but i made it – and was even on time :).

wisdom for the day – always ALWAYS charge your bike battery the night before!

busy bee

i found some great fabrics at the fabric district last week!  i’m so excited to finish my pillows for my shop:)  saturday was my first official day of creating products specifically for my shop.  it was so exciting to be crafting for someone else – not just something for use in our home!  i’m also working on some candle holders and picture frames. here’s a sneak peek of some of the fabrics:

i attended blog sugar last night.  it was so much fun!  such an amazing group of women who not only consistently write on their blogs, but also run successful home businesses.  so inspiring!  next on my list – figuring out how to use twitter!  should be a fun week :)

hope your monday is great!  i know i’m LOVING this gloomy weather.  if only i was home enjoying a cup of hot cocoa and watching this:

or this….

oh well – something to look forward to tonight!

counting blessings

blessings. its easy to overlook them.  we get caught up in daily life, get sucked into the negativity causing our focus to be misplaced to things in this world, instead of focusing on what god has blessed us with.  i’m guilty of this. i start to replay nasty phrases in my head “why is life so easy for _____ while we’ve had to struggle” or “if only we had _____ everything would be so much easier”.  i see my kids beginning to take on this type of attitude as well “all of our friends have ____”  or my favorite  “all of our friends have an iphone – why can’t i have one!”

it makes me sad – actually sad isn’t a strong enough word for what i feel.  god has given us so much – we have a roof over our head, we’ve never had to miss a meal, we have two healthy kids, after 16 years together jake & i are still madly in love with each other, we both have jobs, we have a wonderful family and an awesome group of friends….i can go on and on.  yet – my mind seems to shoot straight for what I FEEL is lacking according to the world’s standards.  yes, we have experienced loss, more than most people we know, however we have also experienced god’s GRACE, his PEACE, his FORGIVENESS and his LOVE.  he has never left us.  even at times when we feel lost or scared, HE is ALWAYS there – waiting for us to seek HIM. 

we are starting a new tradition in our family….at dinner we are going to each say what we are thankful for in as much detail as possible.  i’m going to purposely look for the blessings throughout the day.  actively looking for blessings  - makes you notice the beauty in the world –not just the negativity. 

yesterday, jake came to meet me at work to ride home with me.  something simple, but sweet.  i’m so thankful to have him in my life.  he makes me smile and is always there to support me. 

James 1:17 (NIV)
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

how do you focus on the blessings in life?

change of pace

in august my husband, jake & i were absolutely giddy….our car was paid off!  hooray!  now we were down to only one car payment.  then one cloudless beautiful day – i turned on my car – and the engine light was on.   i was sure that it’s no big deal– the car is only 5 years old – so nothing “major” could be wrong with it, right? WRONG.  the dealer quoted us over $3500 in repairs to our car.  what?  seriously – we literally just paid the thing off.  so we shrunk the list down to what was most important – and managed to get the total below $3,000.  we considered this an investment – because this car is a VW and will last us “forever” right? WRONG.  not even a week later – the engine light came on again.  this time it was the fuel pump.   SERIOUSLY?!

so even though our life is a bit crazy with our 2 kids & 6 animals – we willingly decided to make it a little crazier by changing things up a bit.  after much prayer and discussion, jake & i decided to sell our car and downsize to a one car family [gasp].   in any other part of the world this probably isn’t that big of a deal, however to our southern california family it will be quite a change of pace.  jake and i determined that it would be a financially sound decision to downsize to one car (after almost 14 years of marriage – i guess there’s a first time for everything :) ).   thanks to my amazing sister-in-law allison for the use of her electric bike – this is how I now start my day in the morning:

things i like about riding my bike:

·         SAVING MONEY – yay!  Now I’m saving gas money + almost $1,000 a year on car insurance. 

·         i feel GREEN – ok i have to admit – i do enjoy not using a car for such  a short commute

·         OUTSIDE TIME!  after sitting at a desk for a good part of the day – some days not even stepping outside between the hours of 8am-4pm – it feels SOOOO good to just spend some time outside.  in fact i adjusted my route so i could enjoy the scenic ride instead of taking a slightly shorter route.

·         SLOW DOWN – i have the habit of rushing every time i’m in the car – i’m impatient around the slow drivers and always seem to be in a hurry.  riding a bike has forced me to slow down a bit and to enjoy my surroundings.

·         taking myself less seriously.  can i tell you that i still feel like a kid – totally embarrassed & self conscious wearing a helmet?  this morning however i took a look at myself in the mirror and had to laugh.  no need for jake to be concerned with someone “checking me out” – i was dressed in grandma sweats, a bright yellow sweatshirt and a huge helmet.  hmm – not the most attractive way to go to work – but my protecting my noggin is more important :)

realistically i know for the long term we will not be able to remain a 1 car family – but our goal is to try to make it for 1 year.  jake & i are fortunate to both work less than 5 miles away from home – so we thought that we might as well give it a try!  plus with riding 50 miles a week – i might even get into shape (that is if i don’t let the electric function of the bike take over J )!

happy riding!

i love the fall!

around this time every year my husband and talk about how much we miss living on the east coast.  there really is no comparison (at least in southern california) to the mountains filled with trees with leaves so bright it’s hard to believe they are even real.  i remember sending my sister a picture of the trees and she thought i had photo shopped in the bright red color.  we lived in maryland for almost 3 ½ years and absolutely LOVED the changes in season.  we do have a few trees in our neighborhood in california that change color every year, but we still don’t get quite the same feeling as we did in maryland.  here are a few pictures that we look at every season to get into the fall mood :) 

i wish we had a better camera - because this

picture really doesn't do the leaves justice. 

but hey - it was 2002 & it was our first digital camera :)

 i can't believe that my babies are now 11 & 13!

enjoy the season!!

noelle